Realizating his Approach to Manufacturing at an Exhibition in Italy

Could you tell us about how Sato Seni was founded?

Our company was founded by my great-grandfather in 1932, but it was my grandfather who built the spinning mill. His motivation was that he heard there was a silk manufacturing company in the western part of Japan and went there for a tour. He was inspired when he saw the actual process of making thread.

However, being farmers originally, they didn't have much money at that time. Back then, banks didn't lend money easily, so they started by borrowing money from locals. They used wood and disassembled old weaving machines to reassemble them, creating the necessary machines. The loom that was made back then is still at our factory today.

How did Sato become involved with Sato Seni?

I had been doing boxing for a long time. I was practicing hard to become a 'world champion', and I made it to the 2nd rank in Japan. However, when I saw the limit of my talent, I quit boxing and decided to follow the path of working in the family business. Since I was a child, I had been thinking, "One day I will have to take over my parents' company."

After graduating from Bunka Fashion College, I got a job at an apparel company in Tokyo. It was after I got married that I returned to my hometown. When I returned, the factory had become very small.

In the midst of this, my father bought 7 knitting machines. I remember being surprised because our company was not large enough to buy machines. High-gauge machines were trendy at the time, but the ones we bought were just a step behind.

Every day, I tried various things until late at night, and I realized that interesting things could be made by mixing 7-gauge or 12-gauge threads. From there, I bought machines with even lower gauges, such as 5-gauge and 3-gauge, and started knitting mixed with various thick threads.

Even as your operations shrunk, you engaged in various initiatives.

The flow shifted significantly about 30 years ago when foreign products began to flood into Japan. Even though the quality of the yarn, which is the raw material, remained the same, the labor costs could be reduced to 1/20 of Japan's cost in China, and the dyeing costs were also cheaper. High-speed, large-scale, automated machines were required, but it was difficult to meet all these demands.

The turning point was when I was invited to an exhibition in Italy. At that time, I picked up a sweater in Tokyo and found it very interesting. I found out from the trading company that it was made with Italian yarn, so I ordered some.

At that time, the Italian company invited me, saying, "There is an exhibition, why don't you come and see it?" I thought, "Our company is not the kind to go to Italy..." but I decided to go, thinking, "This kind of chance will never come again," because I thought I would understand how to make it if I went to see the factory.

I went on a factory tour with the intention of stealing the technology, but the people in the factory passionately explained what they had made, saying things like, "Try touching this," and "It's light, isn't it?" While listening to them, I felt a pain in my chest. I felt that I should not imitate them. I thought that we, in our factory, must create things and make new culture.

At that time, the stance of the Japanese apparel industry was to obtain information from Europe and make the same products. There was no originality, and they only made sweaters of a predetermined shape.

What I am aiming for is a company that creates new trends, like the factories in Italy. I thought at the time that unless we became such a company, we would eventually go under.

That's when your challenge began, Sato.

Yes. However, at that time in Japan, if you started your own brand in your own style and made it public, you would be subject to pressure. Therefore, I decided to start in New York rather than in Japan. I didn't have any new machines at that time, so again, I used old machines that I had modified.

Actually, it wasn't until about 120 years ago that good quality yarn began to be made in Japan. Before that, they used all the sheep's hair together without distinguishing between the age or length of the sheep's hair. Because they mixed long and short hair together to make the thread, the raw material was quite crude.

However, the machines used at that time were carefully made to be able to produce even if they were using such poor materials. Today's machines are designed to prioritize speed and cost reduction, and they can't make special things. The best structure for making your own products is an old machine. If you modify the machine yourself, yarn making becomes more fun.

Did you start selling what you made in New York?

We also participated in a major exhibition in Tokyo. At that time, we were an unknown knit factory, so we were assigned a booth at the very corner, and we wondered, "Who will come?" However, we thought that if we showed our samples, people would definitely understand the quality of our products, so we designed our own booth and exhibited.

Thanks to our efforts to attract interest, many people came. We also received a lot of inquiries from various companies, so we chose the companies to deal with and started our business in Japan.

Although we managed to start smoothly, we shed tears of frustration because the products we made did not go out into the world under our own brand name.

The opportunity to break out of this situation came when I was casually watching a TV program. There was a feature about a brush artisan who made cosmetic brushes and became a topic of conversation in America. I remembered that people from American companies had come to the Tokyo exhibition, and decided

At that time, they said, "Why don't you exhibit at an exhibition in America?" and I applied. This exhibition was the opportunity for us to make the decision to launch our brand in America. However, we only had two chances. We challenged ourselves on the promise that if we didn't produce results, we would give up.

How was the response to the exhibition you held in America?

At the first exhibition, quite a few customers came. However, since that exhibition was mainly for selling low-priced items, various people told me, "You have to bring out products in this price range during New York Collection period." That was the trigger for me to start investigating how to get into the collection.

At that time in Japan, there was no one who had done a collection, and there was no pipeline. It was also necessary to have a story as a brand, and production was important.

Therefore, we focused on the fact that our company has been making yarn for nearly 100 years over four generations. In America, many people run the business of their time in one generation. There aren't many people like in Japan who inherit a technique. That's why we designed a handmade booth based on our company's story.

Thanks to that, an American TV station came and interviewed us because they thought, "There seems to be something interesting here."

When we exhibited at 'Pitti Immagine Filati' in Italy, we also designed a booth with a creative display. Although we were initially assigned a less noticeable booth underground, the following year we were on the main floor. Again, professionals can immediately recognize the quality of a product.

Japanese people may think it's just clothing, but from a European perspective, the wool industry is their culture itself.

Europe is high in both creativity and technology, isn't it?

Yes. I definitely felt that the good stuff comes from Europe. Japan is chasing too much after it, and I think we have stopped creating things on our own.

We can't catch up with the level of technology, and there is nothing Japanese in it. Therefore, there is no demand for knits made in Japan, and we can't export at all. The textile industry has never been able to catch up with Europe in any way.

Whether it's fashion or anything else, when people who have reached the top in Europe see it, they have to make something that they will say, "This is amazing" or "This is impossible."

I believe that it is necessary to know everything oneself. Especially wool is my main business, so I deepened my knowledge thoroughly. I have almost mastered hemp and silk in my mind. Weaving, thread, and wool are really interesting when you know their history.

Sato Textiles is what it is today because of your dedication.

I think so. Our company was an unknown company until about ten years ago, but when you persistently do what you are obsessed with, people and opportunities gather. If we chase trends, we can't survive if a company with more resources than ours emerges. I believe that our company exists today because we did not chase trends.

Action is important. Make the decision to exhibit, then simulate how to fight in that environment. Then evolve oneself in order to challenge the next battle. I also grew through challenging many exhibitions.

In fact, our company has not only been making thread, but also started a select shop 'GEA', dealing with our own brand products from about 7 to 8 years ago. We also have a restaurant in the facility where we are committed to all aspects, including ingredients and cooking methods.

The Japanese Wool Industry, Starting from Importation

You mentioned that wool has been thoroughly explored, could you tell us about the history of wool?

Wool is a fiber that has been used for medical purposes since about 8,000 years ago. The reason being that it repels water and isn't easily wettable, thus facilitating body heat retention. Among animals' fur, I believe that sheep possess the most functionality. From the past, many people have successfully made money from wool, and it has always been highly valued.

In our company, we buy wool from various regions and mix them for use. I personally have visited all regions where wool is available.

Does the characteristic of wool differ depending on the region?

Just as there are differences amongst humans, sheep are also entirely different. Just like how human hair can be straight or curly depending on humidity and environment, the features of wool also vary. Moreover, it can change according to how the farmers raise them.

Recently, farmers are only selecting the best-quality sheep, breeding them, and managing their quality. The sheep are ranked, and their price changes accordingly. Better sheep are more expensive, and there's a huge difference in digits.

In Japan, has wool been used for a long time?

No, it has not. The only fibers originally used in Japan were hemp and silk. The importance of wool was realized during the Edo period.

In winter, cotton gets wet, and in the snowy areas, it gets unbearably cold. On the other hand, wool is warm and doesn't smell even when wet. Having realized this, a large number of sheep were imported from Europe with the intent of raising them in Japan.

However, the flatlands of Japan were mostly paddy fields and farmland. These areas were not suitable for sheep rearing, and so it couldn't be done. That's why we started importing wool from Australia.

From the time we started weaving with the Toyota automatic loom, it spread rapidly. However, when Japan was conquering Asia and at war with other countries, the UK imposed economic sanctions on Japan, and the export of wool to Japan was stopped.

At that time, we tried to produce wool domestically, but it ended in almost complete failure. Among all areas, only Fukushima and Yamagata were successful.

Afterward, there was a national strategy to increase the number of sheep to a 1 million head goal, but since raw materials from foreign countries started to come in again, there was no need to breed sheep just for the yarn, considering the costs.

I see, that's quite a history. What triggered the development of the textile industry?

The trigger was when the war ended, and Japan's textile economic growth began. It changed greatly when women started to enter the society. When women started working on top of doing household chores and raising children, they became much busier and no longer had time to make clothes at home. As a result, clothes started being sold in stores.

Until then, every town had many yarns and home sewing machines for sale. However, the market changed rapidly when clothes started selling.

So, the textile industry became popular all at once since the habit of "buying at stores" was established.

It experienced a tremendous economic growth. However, it came to a halt during the bubble economy. Since there was a need to manufacture in large quantities at a low cost, the production sites moved to Korea and Taiwan.

About 50 years ago, the annual sales of Japanese knits were about 30 million pieces. This increased to about 100 million pieces approximately 30 years ago. From there, they increased to 600 million pieces 15 years later. The overseas import ratio rose from 60% to 99% in 15 years. The number of knit industrial associations in Yamagata decreased from 480 companies to about 20 companies. Even those 20 companies have reduced their scale to one-third of what they were.

Currently, 99.5% of branded wool knits in Japan are imported.

We Want to Spread Fashion that Capitalizes on Japanese Culture to the World

As Sato Seni, are there any issues that you feel need to be addressed?

Since the spread of the internet, there are many cases where consumers obtain information themselves and go to search for the products. The level of customers who understand our company's story is constantly increasing, so our challenge is how to convey the information to these people.

When doing PR, instead of the brand side unilaterally sending information, I think our task is to create a two-way environment where consumers can learn about and become interested in the meticulousness that goes into manufacturing.

Lastly, could you tell us your prospects for the future?

I want to create a new culture in the global market. In a situation where the domestic production ratio is declining, rather than selling in volume, it's important to brand properly and create absolute fans. So, I feel that it's necessary to create passionate fans who sympathize with our company culture, and make them repeat customers.

To expand our company worldwide, it's important to become a topic of conversation, as in, "Only Sato Seni can make such attractive products." Like Brunello Cucinelli in Italy, I'm conscious of creating something that can only be made in this region, creating a culture deeply rooted in the town, and aiming to be the first Japanese maison and luxury brand.